The Dark Lord's Apprentice
by dpc829
Summary: Harry Potter was raised to be the Dark Lord's ultimate weapon.  However, Dumbledore gets a hold of him.  Eventual H/G R/Hr
1. Prologue

A/N: This is my first story... not really much to say after that, so sit back, relax and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, and I never will.

Special thanks to DarklyLight for great beta work.

Prologue

"My Lord," the masked figure said, bowing low to the ground.

"Lucius," replied the darkest wizard the world had ever known. "I am trusting you with a mission that is of vital importance. I would like to introduce you to my apprentice, Harry Potter."

To say that Lucius Malfoy was surprised would have been an understatement. Shock seeped through his carefully schooled mask of restraint. He quickly shook the shock off, inclining his head to the Dark Lord's apprentice.

"Harry," Voldemort continued, "will be going with you on your next mission to observe your… tactics." Lucius' gaze flickered over to the young apprentice, thoroughly examining him with his eyes. Harry Potter was a very imposing figure on his own. His piercing green eyes and harsh countenance, coupled with his rather large and muscular physique, made him seem almost evil. That is, of course, if you skipped over the aura that seemed to be rippling around him. It was an aura of a demon, a demon that screamed for blood.

"Yes, My Lord." With a quick, jerky bow, Lucius Malfoy hurriedly apparated to his destination, followed closely by the young dark prodigy, Harry Potter.

* * *

><p>As Minister of Magic, Reginald Avery was probably the worst choice for a time of war. His cowardice, inability to be decisive, and laissez-faire style of leadership had slowly but surely crippled the economy.<p>

During his first week in office, Minister Avery had called for a very high tax increase to help improve funding for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. However, the money mysteriously vanished one day. Speculations had risen that the minister had embezzled the funds and used them to hire his personal body guards. The talk led to investigations, and it was soon found out that the Minister's Senior Undersecretary had taken most of the funds and had run off to another continent. The vote for a new tax increase came up quickly. The public cried for rejection of the increase, but it was Lucius Malfoy who had stepped up. He asked that the Wizengamot consider taxing only the High Families, or families that had been around for more than a millennia. His alteration of the tax increase was approved.

It was later found out by one of the spies of the Order of the Phoenix- a supporter of the light led by Albus Dumbledore- that Malfoy's target had been the families supporting the light. The result had been disastrous. Only a little bit of the money had reached the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, all of it coming from the Weasleys (who had literally emptied their vault and sold many of their possessions to pay the tax), the Longbottoms, and the other light families, as well as the neutral families like the Greengrasses. The known (but not proven) dark families had failed to pay a cent. They hid behind the scandals of the last taxation to cover their tracks

That had been 14 years ago, when the war had heightened dramatically. It appeared that all hope seemed lost. The Potters then went into hiding, and were promptly wiped extinct. The Longbottoms lost both their head of house, as well as their Matriarch.

Scandals had followed Minister Avery up to his reelection seven years later, but by then the ministry had become corrupt. The Wizengamot voted for his reinstatement, a near unanimous vote that left the entirety of Britain's Wizarding World in shock and dismay.

The Matriarchs of the Seven Suns, a union comprising of the Matriarchs of the seven Ancient and Noble Families, stepped up to try and intervene. The Malfoy and Parkinson families had voted against the intervention, the Greengrass family abstained. This left only the Potter family, the Weasley family, the Longbottom family and the Prewitt family. Since the Weasley Matriarch was of both Prewitt and Weasley families, she voted two for intervention. However, the Potter family no longer had a Matriarch, and the Longbottoms successor had yet to be fully declared and sworn in by the Wizengamot, they were both forced to sustain. The split vote stopped the intervention, and Minister Avery was reinstated to office.

Unfortunately for the Death Eaters, Minister Avery refused to play a pawn. Instead, he spent his time barricaded in his office, with a team of guards outside the door and a group of whores inside.

* * *

><p>Lucius Malfoy and Harry Potter walked swiftly into the Ministry of Magic and up to the wand check station. The security guard at the station used a quick <em>Priori Incantatem<em> spell, asked a few questions about the wand's wood and core, and let them through. They strode deliberately through the atrium, into the elevators and up to the Minister's offices. Harry looked around (Rule 1 was always know your surroundings), his eyes rested on the secretary. Harry felt the urge to gag. _"Halfbloods,"_ he thought to himself. This ministry was truly pathetic. Harry turned back to Malfoy, who, by then, had already greeted several of the Department heads. Harry stretched out his senses; Malfoy's heartbeat was increasing at an alarming rate. _"He's nervous? That's going to make the report," _Harry thought. Malfoy made his way up to the secretary, and with a flash of a money pouch, was allowed through the first checkpoint with his overseer.

Checkpoint two was going to be a challenge. The thirty plus aurors stationed between him and the minister were trained to check every person for the Dark Mark. Not only that, but if a fight did erupt in such enclosed spaces, it would be over in a heartbeat.

It seemed that the young dark wizard had noticed this, and instead of trying to get through the crowd of aurors, had instead whipped out his wand and sent a powerful cutting curse at the group. The first 30 dropped instantly, the spell tearing them apart and cleaving large gashes into the walls. The remaining few aurors were too slow, resulting in their own demises. The two remaining wizards strolled up to the doors and swung them open to a rather disturbing sight.

The minister, who had been rather slim before taking office, now resembled a walrus. His pants and underwear were bunched around his ankles. He was being "tended" to by five witches. Lucius Malfoy made a disgusted noise, alerting the minister of their presence.

"L-Lucius? What are you doing here?" The minister asked, hastily pushing the whores away from him and pulling his pants up.

"My master has decided that you are no longer needed. _Avada Kedavra_!" The green light of the killing curse raced towards its target. It struck dead on. The witches all screamed in horror, more lights flashed, and five bodies joined the minister's on the floor. The two men lit the fireplace just as the office doors burst open and a dozen or so aurors led by Alastor Moody came pouring in. Moody shouted at his men to stun the two Death Eaters. There was a pause, then all hell broke loose.

Multiple red lights came flying at Harry and Malfoy, which were all blocked by a protego charm from Harry. Suddenly, a red light tore through the air and hit the Dark Apprentice in the back. There was a flash of green flames, and Harry fell to the ground unconscious.

A/N The next chapter should be up by Tuesday.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: It would appear that my excellent Beta Reader, Darkly Light, is on the ball, and the chapter comes out 24 hours before I thought it would. Of course, you should enjoy and review.

Chapter 1

Harry awoke with a start. His hands were tied behind the chair he was sitting in, and his head was covered with some sort of sack that went down to his navel. He could hear muffled sounds coming from in front and to the right of him. He tapped his foot once. From the echo, he decided he was in a relatively small room. The dripping of the water indicated that he was most likely underground, and in an area that rained a lot. It was cold, much like the autumn weather, so there was no insulation. The muffled voices were probably coming from behind doors, so there were at least three rooms. The room he was in probably only housed him, and therefore, his only cover if he could get free would be the chair he was sitting on. Then, the strong metallic odor hit him; he was in a torture chamber.

The Glasgow torture chamber, which was hidden below the Clyde River, was an interrogation cell where the most ruthless criminals and Ministry security threats were sent. There was no veritaserum here. It was more of a… hands on approach.

The doors opened to reveal a man with a prosthetic leg walked in. Or, at least, Harry thought it was a prosthesis from the way it clunked on the floor. He knew who it was before the sack was pulled off. A bright white light shone in Harry's eyes. He suppressed a groan and managed to keep his eyes open without them tearing up Once his eyes adjusted to the blinding light, Harry quickly found himself face to face with Mad-eye Moody. The old auror looked down at Harry from his standing position before punching him square in the jaw. There was an audible snap, and Harry's jaw hung open slightly. Another blow from the grizzled auror's cane left his arm fractured in two places and his ribs bruised.

"I guess this is kill first, ask later?" Harry managed to say through his broken jaw. This earned him a sharp kick on the side of the head. _"That must be his prosthesis,"_ Harry managed to think through the sickening crunch of metal on bone. The pain was tremendous, but Harry continued to gaze out into the nothingness as if nothing was amiss. A potion was forced down his throat, making him splutter and cough for a moment. The pain dulled, and he could feel his bones healing.

"Who are you?" The gruff voice of Moody cut through the empty room like a knife, or so Harry thought.

"_Well speak of the devil," _he thought as Moody pulled out a long serrated knife with runic carvings. A poison blade, very painful, but not deadly according to the kaunan rune carved at the tip of the blade. Harry braced himself, right before the blade began to slice into his skin.

* * *

><p>The castle of Hogwarts, located a few miles north of Braedownie, Scotland, was home to over 300 students and more than 500 staff (if you include the house elves). Of these 500 staff members, only one was missing. Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, was currently attending a trial. It wasn't because he was the Chief Warlock that he was summoned to the courts, nor was it because he was Supreme Mugwump. He was going to the courtrooms for the trial of Harry James Potter, the boy who vanished.<p>

The Chief Warlock practically ran through the Ministry of Magic. He stopped briefly at the wand check station, and with a quick "hello" to the guard on duty, made his way down to courtroom number 10. Courtroom 10 was designed to hold the entire Wizengamot, as well as all the reporters, and anyone else who wished to view the proceedings, if the trial was open to the public.

"Madam Bones, I have heard some rather interesting news," Dumbledore said to the assistant head of the DMLE.

"As have we all, Albus. Young Harry Potter turns up, in the ministry no less, surrounded by dead bodies- one of them being the minister- and with known Death Eaters," Amelia Bones replied, shock evident in her voice.

"You don't think he could have gone dark, do you? He was only one year old the last time anyone saw him," Dumbledore whispered. "What would Death Eaters want with a baby?"

"Hopefully, our questions will be answered today. If you would like to start us out," Amelia said loudly, signaling to everyone around her that the session was about to start.

"Thank you, Amelia," Dumbledore began in a loud voice. His voice echoed throughout the chamber. There was no need for a Sonorus Charm here, the acoustics were rather incredible.

"Madam Secretary, you may begin your notes. I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, on the date of September thirtieth, hereby declare this Wizengamot emergency session in order. Today, we stand trial to the accused, Harry James Potter, for the murder of our late minister, Reginald Avery."

There was more legal terminology that Harry deftly tuned out. He was trying to think. He tried to remember his master's rules. _"Rule 1; always know your surroundings in case of a fight. Rule 2, you are useless to me dead, avoid death at all cost. Rule 3, do not fail me, or you will die._ _Rule 2,"_ Harry thought. _"That's it! Rule 2!"_

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. Harry snapped to attention then. "I am going to ask a few simple questions." At Harry's nod, he continued, "Please state your full name for the record."

"Harry James Potter."

"How old are you, Mister Potter?"

"15."

The questions went on in this vein for a few minutes. It was easy questions like these that helped Harry formulate a quick plan.

"Have you ever, or do you now, support Lord Voldemort?" There was a collective hiss from the crowd.

"No." Harry lied.

"Would you be willing to submit to Veritaserum?" A snide voice asked from the right.

"Cornelius, I am only going to ask you once," Dumbledore began, his tone hardening. "Please do not speak out of turn while these proceedings are in session. Now then-" Dumbledore was then cut off by multiple voices of agreement.

"I decline," came the strong voice of the accused.

"See here, Dumbledore, he has declined. Isn't that proof enough of his guilt?" Many heads nodded in agreement to that statement.

"I believe, Mister-" At this, Harry looked up at Dumbledore.

"Fudge," Dumbledore replied. Harry's sarcastic side had the urge to say "no thanks", but he refrained.

"Mr. Fudge," he continued. "I do believe I was doing this courtroom a favor." To say that Fudge looked angry was an understatement.

"Now see here, _boy_," Fudge blustered.

"No YOU see HERE!" Harry yelled. "In the year 1854, it was made illegal to administer veritaserum on a minor without the written and verbal consent of that minor's legal guardian."

"You are a ward of the state, you belong to the ministry," Fudge said, but he had lost some of his conviction, and even more of his supporters.

"I _belong_ to the ministry? Are you daft, sir? I was not aware that I was a mere _possession_. I was not dragged into this courtroom today to be unfairly accused of a crime I did not commit, nor did I come in here to be insulted by a fool like you. Chief Warlock," Harry said, turning to Dumbledore. "I ask that these proceedings be ended immediately, and that my record be cleared. I have suffered a great insult by being forced in here. I was tortured by aurors for information. According to the laws provided by this ministry-"

"I do believe I know the laws, Mr. Potter. However, we cannot simply let you walk away just yet. Our minister lay dead, and you were seen in the very room he was murdered in with a known Death Eater."

"I can explain all that," Harry said. Dumbledore nodded his head for him to continue. "I had gotten a tip from a Death Eater I overheard at a pub in Diagon Alley, saying something was going to happen at the ministry."

"You _knew_ that something was going to happen, yet you did not contact anyone?" Fudge smirked in triumph.

"Would you honestly say you would believe a kid, if they said that the Ministry was going to be attacked?" Dumbledore countered.

"We always take threats seriously at the ministry," Fudge replied viciously.

"Yeah, and you guys are also great with handling funds," Harry replied with a grin. There were a few chuckles at this. Everyone knew that all those missing funds had made their way into Fudge's supporter's pockets.

"I-you-you little-," Fudge seemed to have lost his ability to speak at that moment.

"Oops," Harry said quietly, feigning regret. "I think I broke him." Many members had already lost their composure; others had lost it from the last statement, and were now laughing openly. "Mr. Fudge, you should probably stop talking before you commit something called 'political suicide'. Now as I was saying, I tailed very closely to Lucius Malfoy, who I knew to be a Death Eater. I actually stood in the same elevator with him, he is quite oblivious. I followed him up to the Minister's Offices, where I believe he bribed the secretary. I followed closely with him-"

"Excuse me, young man, but how did _you_ get past the secretary?" Madame Bones asked.

"I think she believed we were together. Anyway, I watched as he cut down the Aurors inside with a few quick cutting spells." Again, Harry was stopped by Dumbledore.

"How is it that you know of spells, or for that matter, about wizards? You have been missing from this world since you were a year old."

"I was found," well, it wasn't a complete lie. "A couple from Liverpool found me and took me in. I learned magic from them."

"But none of the owls we sent ever made it to you. Hogwarts owls are amazingly smart creatures. You could tell them any location or person within the country, and they would find them without error."

"Well, I wasn't in the country by then. The Dark Lord had killed my surrogate family and I had run to the continent. For some reason, he felt compelled to attack me. By the way, what does this have to do with the trial?" Harry asked, stalling for time to think up more of his story.

"We need to have your story in order to accurately judge you."

"Oh. So, as I was saying, I had only been back in London for a few days before I overheard the Death Eaters talking. So, I watched Mr. Malfoy commit these crimes, and was going to try and stop him, when he began firing the killing curse at the minister and the witches inside. I was about to stun him when the Aurors charged in. I managed to throw up a quick shield. I was then hit in the back. I believe that I was hit by a stunner from Mr. Malfoy."

"Why would Mr. Malfoy stun you and flee? If he was willing to throw a stunner, then he would have been willing to fight the rest of the aurors, instead of fleeing."

"I suppose he realized that I also did not belong there, and that I would make a good decoy for his escape. My protego charm stopped all the stunners from hitting me, and since he was behind me, from hitting him as well. Unfortunately, the protego charm is only good at blocking a frontal assault, so it made me an easy target for Malfoy."

"Don't you think he would have killed a little brat like you, instead of stunning you?" Fudge said mockingly. Harry's eyes flashed. He was about to say something, but Dumbledore beat him to it.

"Cornelius, that is now three times that you have disrupted these proceedings. As Chief Warlock, I hereby ask that the aurors on duty escort you out of this court room. We will hold a mandatory meeting in twenty-four hours time. During this time, it is advised that you seek legal council. Pending this hearing, you will be barred from attending any political meetings involving the Wizengamot, and you will be stripped of your seat and title." The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes had diminished some.

"Y-you can't do this to me!" Fudge screamed at Dumbledore whilst being dragged away by the aurors. He was hauled through the large oak doors, which shut loudly behind him. As his screams died down, Dumbledore called the trial back to order.

"However angry I am at Mr. Fudge, I would like to hear an answer to that question as well. According to you, he cut down almost 40 people, why leave the one witness alive?"

"He left more than one witness. I know for a fact that Department Head Moody knew who he was." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at this, but kept quiet. "The aurors in the room would have been too busy securing me to attack Malfoy. You should probably put some funding into their training. Well, funding that actually makes it to them anyway."

"I could not agree more. You said you knew that Alastor Moody knew that the Death Eater in question was, in fact, Lucius Malfoy? How would you know that?"

"I spent a few hours in Glasgow having a nice… conversation with him." The implication of what had happened made Dumbledore seem a much angrier man.

"Do you mean to tell me that Ministry Aurors held you at a high security facility, and that these men _interrogated_ you?" At Harry's nod, Dumbledore stood, the twinkle in his eye gone. "The accused will be released and cleared of all charges. This ruling is protected by statute 7 of the International Confederation for the Protection of Underage Wizards and Witches- any minor accused of a crime may not be harassed, inflicted physical or mental punishment, or be coerced into speaking against himself, otherwise they shall be released and all charges shall be dropped." There were a few murmurs of agreement, and a few grumbles of disagreement, but the law had the final say. "Mr. Potter, if you would come with me."

* * *

><p>"Tea, Mr. Potter?"<p>

"Yes, please." Harry and Dumbledore had apparated back to Hogwarts, or more precisely, the Headmaster's office.

"I want you to know, Mr. Potter, that I did not believe your story one bit," Dumbledore said a few moments later.

"Oh? And if I said you were correct?" Harry asked.

"I would kindly request that you repay my kindness and tell me the truth. After all, I did just lie to the entire Wizengamot. I'm sure that none of them will catch me in that lie, however, the reporters will."

"Very well, the Dark Lord is my master," Harry answered truthfully. Dumbledore seemed shocked, but stifled his gasp of surprise.

"I would love to hear this story."

"What makes you think I'll tell you the truth?" By the time the question had left his lips, he realized his mistake. Rule 11, never trust Albus Dumbledore. He should have remembered! It was the only rule where a specific person was named. Dumbledore knew how to play dirty for the '_greater good'_.

"Now how about that full story, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore prompted.

"I don't remember the exact details of the day, but on Halloween in 1981, my master killed my parents. After a surge of accidental magic that sent my master through the wall, he took me in and raised me to be his apprentice. At the age of four, I was proficient in the Dark Arts, Potions, and Ancient Runes. By age six I had a mastery in those three, and I also gained my mastery in Defense and Survival. At seven, I faced a manticore. By age eight, I had achieved mastery in everything taught at Hogwarts, including most graduate level courses. We later learned that I was an Arch Mage." At this, Dumbledore did gasp. Arch Mages were rare. An Arch Mage is a person who has the magical ability to unlock more than 50% of their brain's power. This may seem insignificant, but even geniuses use less than 20%. The abilities of an Arch Mage included an eidetic memory, an extremely large magical core, multiple animagus forms, and an ability unique to each Arch Mage. There was a classification used to determine the level of an Arch Mage's abilities.

"What is your unique ability, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

"I have the ability to resist Veritaserum," Harry said, smiling. The look on Dumbledore's face made him laugh.

"I hate my master, sir, but he took me in. He raised me, fed me, clothed me and taught me. I owe him, not as much as a life debt, but I do owe him. I am his apprentice, and his most valuable asset. He will fight you tooth and nail to get me back, no matter where I am."

"I cannot let you leave this castle in good conscious. Tom will poison your mind, and mold you into a killing machine."

"I don't see much choice in the matter. I _owe_ him."

"Since when does one repay a debt with the lives of millions? Stay at the castle, write to Voldemort and tell him you wish to remain here as spy. Build an alibi like the one you made in court."

"Or the one you made?" Harry mused. Dumbledore had the grace to blush. "I will consider it. In that time I wish to have a tour of the castle."

"Of course, Harry. May I call you Harry?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded and Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling brightly. "I will have a student right up. Actually, I have three in particular that you might enjoy meeting."

* * *

><p>"You have betrayed me most severely, Lucius." Voldemort's anger seemed to flow off of him in rolling waves of power. The followers in the room, save for Bellatrix, all cowered in fear from their master's power. "Never have I seen such disloyalty, such a disgraceful act from a member of a Noble family. You will die by the end of this night. You are lucky I do not kill your son and wife as well."<p>

"M-my Lord. P-please, spare me. Take my family, but let me live. I live only to serve you, My L-"

"Enough, Lucius. You live for yourself, and for that you shall be punished. _Crucio_."

* * *

><p>Ginny Weasley was currently busy. That is, if you could call being in a broom closet, snogging your boyfriend senseless busy. Ginny and Dean Thomas had been going out for six months.<p>

Ginny moaned into Dean's mouth as he slid his tongue between her lips. Their tongues dueled each other for control, before Dean pulled back to kiss her ear. His hands began to roam her body, grabbing handfuls of clothes and going up the back of her shirt and onto the small of her back. Ginny moaned again, and Dean's hand traveled higher, until-

"Dean, stop!" Ginny yelled when his hand reached the bottom of her bra.

"Ginny," Dean whined. "A bloke needs to touch every once in a while."

"And I told you I'm not ready!"

"Okay, Ginny, I'm sorry." With that, they resumed their snogging session. Again, Dean's hand traveled too high for comfort, and Ginny sighed in annoyance.

"Dean, if I have to tell you ag- mmph," Dean had cut her off with a forceful kiss. His hand roughly grabbed her breast, while his other hand grabbed her bum and hauled her into him. She struggled in his grip for a moment, before kneeing him in the groin. He doubled over in pain and let her go.

"Dammit, Dean! You- You," she began throwing bat bogey curses at his prone form. "We're through, Thomas."

Ginny met up with Ron and Hermione in the common room some time later. Ron and Hermione were… well, no one was really sure. They would go from fighting to snogging in an instant, and just as quickly they would be back to fighting. At this moment, they seemed to be doing a bit of both. Ginny coughed quietly in order to alert the two of her presence. Of course, it didn't work. She coughed louder with no response, before giving up and pulling her wand.

"Aguamenti," Ginny said, smiling to herself as she did. A jet of water came tearing out of her wand and onto the couple in front of her.

"Oi! Ginny, what the bloody hell was that for! I thought you were with Dean," Ron said angrily.

"_That_ was for making me watch you two snogging," Ginny began. "And as for Dean, well let's just say we're through."

"Ginny, that's the third guy in two years," Hermione said.

"Yeah, well every guy in this school is a prat," Ginny said, motioning towards her brother as proof. Ron protested lightly, but soon started grinning.

"So," Ron said casually. "Who's my next target- err, I mean, who's your next boyfriend?"

"I'll never tell," Ginny teased. Her brother meant well, even if he was tactless at times. Hermione gave her a sympathetic look and mouthed out 'We'll talk later'.

Ginny nodded and turned to leave. A first year came hurtling through the common room entrance, plowing straight into Ginny's stomach and knocking them both onto the hardwood floor of the common room. Ginny groaned in pain as Hermione came over to help, and Ron yelled at the poor first year. The young boy, Euan Abercrombie, started stuttering something quietly. The three older Gryffindors could make out words like 'Headmaster' or 'meeting'. He was saved from his embarrassing debacle by Hermione, who placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and urged him to calm down.

"T-the Headmaster," Euan began, his voice cracking sharply. "Err, the H-headmaster a-asked me to… to… his office… he, um, wants you to go to his office."

"Thank you Euan, and please be more careful from now on," Hermione said gently while pulling Ron and Ginny with her out of the common room. "Ron, you are a prefect!" She yelled at him, hitting his arm with each word.

"C'mon 'Mione, the kid needs to learn to watch where he's going." This earned him a "Here, here" from Ginny, and a hard glare from Hermione.

"Making first years wet themselves is hardly a sufficient lesson. We, as prefects, need to be respected, Ronald, not feared. Anyway, I have more important business to attend to." With that, Hermione grabbed Ginny and pulled her out of earshot of Ron. The three continued walking towards the Headmaster's office; Hermione and Ginny walked a few feet behind Ron.

"So, what happened, Ginny? That's the eighth guy this year. You'll end up building a bad reputation."

"Try to leave out the 'eight this year' from Ron. We'll let him believe I've only ever dated three guys. As for my reputation… as long as those guys keep holding their stupid votes, I'm fairly safe. Dean… Dean got too," Ginny paused for a moment. "He got too hands on for my liking."

"Talk, Ginny. I think I should hear this whole story."

"More like you need fuel for a late night fantasy." At Hermione's snort of disbelief, Ginny grinned. "Tell me you don't fantasize about taking Ron into an empty classroom and snogging his brains out."

"Shh! Ginny! This isn't about me, it's about you and Dean. Talk, or I'll hex you," Hermione threatened.

"Well… we were snogging in the oversized broom cupboard on the fifth floor…" Again, she paused. Hermione gave an encouraging nod. "Well, he had me pinned against the wall, you know with his hands on either side, and his entire body pressed up against me." Ginny blushed, but decided it would just be best to continue. "He put his hands in my shirt and started moving them up. It did feel really good… you should try it with Ron."

"Ginny," Hermione growled while pulling out her wand.

"Ok, ok, sorry. So when he reached the bottom of my bra, I pushed him away. He complained a bit, kind of like a little girl now that I think about it. Anyway, he agreed not to do it again, so we got back to snogging. A few minutes later, he let his hands roam. When I tried to push him away, he got a little forceful. I think I may have bruises," Ginny said. "I ended up kneeing him in the 'boys' and hexing him half-way to hell."

"Alright, this time I agree with you. He deserved it. Oh! We're here all ready. Shall we?"

"Yeah," Ron said. "Uh, what's the password again?"

"It's… oh dear," Hermione said, "I don't believe we've been told the password."

"Lemon Drop?" Ginny suggested. The Gargoyle, unsurprisingly remained unmoving. "Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans?"

"Fhizzing Whizbees?"

"Mars Bars?" The Gargoyle suddenly sprang to life. Hermione let out a low whoop in triumph.

"Hermione, what's a Mars Bar?"

"Muggle candy."

* * *

><p>A few minutes earlier, the Headmaster had been having a little debate.<p>

"It's the perfect way to get under his skin, and to mark my independence from him. I promise to keep my prejudice locked away. Besides, this is the only way you'll get me to stay; I won't come here to learn what I already know."

"But you're still young; you need to be at least 17 before you can do that."

"Not if I declare End of Line, then I could do this. I'd be a legal adult, and you would have to take it into consideration. Come on, I'll prove I'm capable, just give me a try!"

"I will accept your request, on one condition."

"Anything."

"You have to swear that you will not go back to him out of your free will."

"I can't promise that!"

"Then it is no deal."

"What if I swore fealty to you as well? Then, orders that conflict would be… canceled. Therefore, if I'm told to do something that you don't like…"

"I can agree to that. Your trial period starts tomorrow."

"One more thing, I need permission to do things my way."

"We shall discuss this later, until then, I believe we have company." The Headmaster nodded at the doors, where three students dressed in black robes with scarlet and gold ties stood.

"Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, Ms. Weasley, I would like to introduce you to Harry Potter. Harry is going to be stepping in as an interim Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. You three will be showing him around the castle."

A/N: Well, that's the next chapter. I found a great place in Scotland to place Hogwarts, which can be found below. I go on vacation this week, so I won't update for a week or so. I'm going to try and keep the updates at about one every week or two.

If you have Google Earth, then the coordinates below show the location that I chose to place Hogwarts for this story. The view is quite breathtaking.

56°55'58.00"N 3° 9'15.98"W


End file.
